RIVERLAND SPRING EVENTS

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:43): I rise to speak about spring in October in the Riverland and Mallee. It really has been quite an opening of the season, particularly with everyone noting that when spring is upon us, everything springs to life—all the plants, the flowers, the trees, the vines—everything shows signs of life. I would like to mention some of the events that are happening in the region, particularly the Riverland and Mallee, and it is a showcase of what the region has to offer.

It is not just about offering the region to people here in South Australia: we have many international and national visitors coming to the region, particularly for the rose festival, because we have world-renowned David Ruston with his rose collection, and the whole region comes to life. I would like to start with some of the events that I have attended, and I would like to also acknowledge the volunteers who support all of these events along the way.

The Loxton show started off the October spring, and it has been a highlight of that region. It is a mini Adelaide show with wood chopping, livestock and equestrian events. One of the highlights of the Loxton show is the produce judging, and that is something that I am very keen on because I am a bit of a jam maker, and I do like to get in amongst the women and compete and compare our glossy jam. That was a really good event.

Then we moved on to the Pinnaroo Show. Pinnaroo is obviously the potato capital of the world, but one thing that the Pinnaroo Show is really renowned for is its Jack Russell racing. The Jack Russell racing really does draw the crowd, and many people save getting to the Pinnaroo Show until 4.30 in the afternoon to see the race. The farmers have finished their day and they come in and everyone brings in their Jack Russells and it really is quite a sight to see. I might like to say that I did manage to win a first place gold trophy for my jam at the Pinnaroo Show, so I am very proud.

Moving down to Barmera, we had the running of the sheep, which coincides with the Barmera sheep dog trials. It really was quite a spectacle to see a semitrailer load of sheep being let out of the truck up at the top end of the main street and running down to the football oval. Many people gather and it really is just a social function for people to watch the sheep run from one end of town to the other but then, as I say, the Barmera sheep dog trials proceed after that.

In amongst that we had the Riverland Auto Expo. The Riverland is very proud of its enthusiasm for motorsport, and it is not just about cars and it is not just about motorbikes. It is about tractors; it is about boats; it is about anything that has a motor in it, anything that moves, anything that makes a noise, anything that is shiny and people love to present. The numbers were down but, as I was made aware, there were six car shows on the October long weekend, so I think the Riverland performed extremely well.

From there I travelled to the farmers' market as I do every Saturday that I am in the Riverland. It was great to see a lot of our visitors coming into the region actually recognise the farmers' market. They go there and buy their produce because they know that coming into the region—into a fruit fly free zone—it is easier to buy your fruit and veg fresh from the producer at the market, rather than carting it all the way up from where you are coming from into the region. That word is travelling, and I think it is a great acknowledgment that people are now leaving their fruit and veg at home and coming up to the region to holiday and buy it up there.

Just quickly, we had the Barmera Main Street Markets and we had the Cobdogla Irrigation and Steam Museum open day. We had the Centenary of Rail in Alawoona—what a spectacle! We had many people there and I opened that up. I did meet people that had been there for many years. They got there when it was a railway town and moved in. One gentleman told me that when he started school it had 170 students, but by the time he got to year 6 the school was closed. The railway line had been put together, put into production and off they went. I also met an elderly couple that looked after me when I was two, so that was great.

Time expired.